Wild Horses
by Sparky176
Summary: A future fic about Rachel and Puck/Finn/someone new-who will she choose? Follows Rachel on her journey of drama, romance, and life in general. Set after Wheels. Chapter 4-Someone New!
1. Chapter 1

So I'm not abandoning _Near To You_ or anything, but since Wheels last week I've had this idea running through my head that I really wanted to mess around with.

It's going to be a Rachel-centric fic, but I'm not sure who I want her to end up with yet. I totally love the whole Rachel and Puck, but after the way that Finn told her he was rooting for her in Wheels I love him too, or so I want to bring in someone totally new for her? Who knows?

As always, I would absolutely love to know what you think, so please, please, _please_, review and let me know!!!

* * *

**Wild Horses**

**Chapter 1**

As she sat in her seat waiting for takeout she rested her head against to cool window and her mind drifted back to a couple of months ago.

_She was standing outside of the choir room when she heard him hit it. Kurt was going to beat her and she was going to have to tell her fathers that she lost another solo. She remember how they reacted when they found out that Tina would be singing lead-they had lectured her that night on how they were not raising a second-rate star for nearly two-hours, and she knows they cut it short because American Idol was coming on and they didn't want to miss it. When they auditioned she was shocked when his voice broke and although she was thankful that she was going to be getting the lead she was still curious why he did it because she knew it was intentional. She corned him after Glee practice a couple of days later and he relented that he did it to protect his dad. Rachel envied the relationship that Kurt had with his dad, as twisted as it may be, but Kurt would obviously give up something to protect his father. Rachel only knew what it was like to have her fathers push her and berate her anytime that she fell lower that the top. It was because of that she offered that they turn it into a duo, that way they would both be able to sing and he wouldn't feel as much pressure than if he sang it alone. They nailed it at Sectionals and won, but they lost in Regionals._

Rachel hated to admit it but she was glad that they lost. That meant that her commitment to Glee was over, and, now that she was sixteen, she would be able to audition for the Ramsey Performing Arts, which she loving referred to as RPA, the high school equivalent of Juilliard. Since she was six years old and her fathers promised her that when she was sixteen she would be able to audition she had been stashing away all of her allowance, birthday, and holiday money. She had a nice little nest egg for her dream to get out of Lima, and it was finally turning into reality.

As the plane leveled off she pulled out her iPod and continued listening to her Wicked playlist. As _I'm Not That Girl_ played she thought back to just last month when the truth of the baby's paternity was revealed.

_Finn and Quinn were the last to come into the choir room for practice, something that had become a usual occurrence, as was the arguing that was always happening between them. First it had been about money for doctor's visits, and then it was money for maternity clothes, which brought them to the current argument, adoption. Finn didn't want to put their daughter up for adoption, Quinn said that there was no other choice. Finn kept pushing the subject and Quinn finally told him that he had no say in it, he wasn't the father. The whole Glee room had fallen silent as they stared at the two. Rachel was the first to look away, towards Puck, who didn't hold the same shock in his eyes as everyone else. Rachel did notice some shock in them, but they looked more hopeful then anything. It was then that she understood. That was two now, Finn and Puck, who wanted Quinn, and none that wanted Rachel._

Rachel stopped the song and switched playlists. She had done enough wallowing and had a few too many self-pity parties lately. She was going to be an optimistic realist (not in a pesky perky way), it was even one of her resolutions. Granted, 2010 didn't start for another week, but Rachel Berry always liked to be prepared.

She reclined her seat and closed her eyes. It was nearly ten o'clock on Christmas and she was exhausted. With Hanukkah ending almost a week ago, her father and she decided that Christmas would probably be a good day to fly thinking that the airports wouldn't be too busy. She had spent part of the afternoon with Kurt, they had formed some sort of friendship after the whole _Defying Gravity_ incident, but everyone else where either out of town, had family visiting from out of town, or were in the middle of the baby drama that she was trying to stay out of. A part of her was relieved, she hated goodbyes, but she was hoping to see some of her friends one more time. The slight rocking of the plane lulled her off to sleep. It wasn't until they made the announcement to put the seats and tray tables in the upright decision that she woke up and smiled. She was in New York. She was that much closer to making it.

* * *

Quick little Chapter 1, I'm hoping to make the other chapter much bigger. So...whatcha think?


	2. Chapter 2

Huge Thank You to Aurora Dusk, greymalkin7, and kadeejay. I really, _really_ appreciated the reviews.

Hope you all enjoy, and as always I would love to hear your thoughts!!!

* * *

**Wild Horses**

**Chapter 2**

Rachel looked out the window at the pitch black darkness as her fathers drove her back to Lima. In the few short months that she was in New York she got used to the lights and movement that were constantly surrounding her. She had wanted to spend the spring break with her roommate, Jessica, who was going back home to Miami (I mean who in their right mind would pick Lima over Miami). Since her fathers were paying for her plane tickets she didn't argue over it. She could save the money for plenty of other things, and she really wanted to catch up with Kurt. They had been exchanging e-mails a couple of times a week, but she was dying to see him in person. She had already spent the first three days of break in Columbus visiting her grandma, tonight they were driving back, spending one day in Lima, and then driving her to the airport the next morning.

She thought back to last week when she read the last e-mail Kurt had sent. Apparently the baby drama just got a little bigger, and Kurt didn't mean the size of Quinn. Turns out that the Mrs. Schuester was never pregnant, which lead to the divorce that is currently going on between her and Mr. Schue. Turn now to the other pregnancy, where Finn split with Quinn, but Puck wasn't with her either (as much as Rachel hated to admit, that news made her feel slightly giddy).

Which brought her thoughts to a place that she was really trying to stay away from, Puck and Finn. Despite the miles and miles of distance that was between them, not to mention the hot guys at RPA, she still felt something towards Puck and Finn. She couldn't quite name what the feeling was, and she kinda was hoping that it would go away because she needed to move on with her life. But a part of her was kinda hoping that they (along with everyone else in Lima) had been pinning away for her-can't blame a girl for daydreaming!

* * *

The next morning Rachel had barely finished getting ready when she heard the knocking at the door. As she ran down the stairs one of her dads opened the door to let Kurt in.

"Well there is hope for you yet Berry. I was afraid that you would never get rid of those plaid skirts and knew highs."

"Well I have you to thank. I decided to put all those fashion lectures you kept trying to give me to some good use and voila." Rachel motioned towards her red, halter top summer dress and wedges that Kurt nodded his approval for.

"New York has done you good. Now get over here. Lima hasn't been the same without you." Rachel ran the rest of the way to Kurt and enveloped him in a hug.

"I missed you Kurt. E-mailing just doesn't cut it." Kurt hugged her back before stepping away from her and walking her out to his Escalade.

"We have lots to cover. It's been close to three months since I've seen you and who knows when it will be again."

"Well, since you brought it up, it might actually be quite a while. RPA has this summer program that I guess you could almost call an internship. There are a few shows that are holding auditions in May and if any of the students make it, then they get some class credits for being a part of the show. Plus, the money that I would earn would pay for room and board at the school and then some."

"Wow. You've really made it out this town haven't you."

"No yet, but here's hoping." Kurt drove them to his favorite place, the mall.

As they were walking to grab some lunch they ran into Quinn and Puck who were coming out of the maternity store next to the food court. Despite the vast vocabulary that Rachel Berry possessed, she was only able to get one word out, and a single syllable one at that.

"Hey." She wanted to smack herself upside the head for that brilliant opening. Out of everything, _everything_, that she could say, that's what comes out of her mouth. As she was giving herself a little mental slap Quinn broke the silence.

"Hey Rachel. You look great! How's New York?" Rachel couldn't stop the smile that came to her face.

"It's good, really good." Rachel self-consciously moved the fringe bangs away from her eye a bit, a little addition that Kurt made her get when he gave her a make-over before she moved to New York. "How have things been going here?"

"Well, you know Lima. Podunk USA, but somehow we manage to create drama to rival Hollywood. How long are you here for?" After Quinn had gotten kicked off of Cheerios, her icy exterior began to melt and her and Rachel had managed to accept one another.

"I fly back tomorrow. I have to finish a project before the break ends."

"I don't know what's wrong with our little diva. I mean why would anyone pick New York over Lima?" Rachel was grateful for the fact that Kurt never could stay quiet for long. "Well, we would love to stay and chat, but I must get some sustenance." Kurt linked arms with Rachel before carting her off towards the food court as she waved good-bye over her shoulder. She was going to have to buy Kurt a present for getting away from what could have been a major train wreck. She could still remember the last time that she talked to Puck.

_Rachel was sitting on her bed in the hotel room trying to calm her nerves for tomorrows audition. Today she corrected, as she glanced at the clock on the bedside table and noticed it was well after midnight. She glanced down at the sheet music that was in her hands reading the music that she knew like the back of her hand when she heard her phone ring. She glanced at the caller ID and noticed it was Puck. She hesitantly answered, she hadn't really talked to him in a while._

"_Puck?"_

"_Hey." She knew that voice-looks like someone was doing a little drunk dialing._

"_Puck, are you okay?"_

"_No. Finn still isn't really talking to me and neither is Quinn. Football season's over. Glee's over. You're gone. What am I suppose to do now?"_

"_Well right now I'd say you should drink a couple of glasses of water and take some aspirin. Where are you at?"_

"_In my bed." Rachel closed her eyes. She had only been in his bedroom once, but she still remembered it, down to the dark blue sheets. She shook her head to clear the mental image._

"_Go to sleep Noah. Things will be better in the morning."_

"_You really believe that." She knew that it didn't really matter what she said because she knew that he wasn't going to remember it in the morning anyways._

"_No. But I figure that eventually it will be true so I just have to fake it until I get to that point. Night Noah."_

"_Night Rach."_

_Despite the emotions that were churned early that morning, they were nothing compared to what she felt when she stood on that stage just a few hours later. She spent hours choosing which song she would audition with. She could've gone with a song from a major Broadway production, she could have gone with Celine Dion, she could have even gone with something new. She spent a week doing nothing but spending her free time searching her CD collection and iTunes to find that one song._

_

* * *

I feel these four walls closing in_

_Face up against the glass_

_I'm looking out_

_Is this my life, I'm wondering_

_It happened so fast_

_How do I turn this thing around_

_Is this the bed I chose to make_

_It's greener pastures I'm thinking about_

_Wide open spaces far away.  
_

_All I want is the wind in my hair_

_To face the fear but not feel scared_

_

* * *

The song first struck her because it described exactly what she felt. She was overwhelmed by everything that her father's had pushed her for. She loved them, and they were good parents, but sometimes they pushed a little too hard and the cuts went a little too deep. She just wanted to be free of the burden that they put on her and work for things because they are what she dreamed of, not what they dreamed for her. In order to try to not disappoint them she turned into the obsessive perfectionist who alienated just about everyone around her._

_

* * *

Wild horses I wanna be like you_

_Throwing caution to the wind I run free too_

_Wish I could recklessly love like I'm longing too_

_I wanna run with the wild horses_

_Run with the wild horses_

_

* * *

She had only practiced in the auditorium at McKinley early before school started. Her fathers thought that she was going to be singing On My Own for the audition, like she did for Glee. For some reason she kept the song a secret. It was almost too personal for her to share with anyone else, not even Kurt, and she rivaled in that secret. The more she practiced it the more she realized that the song took on a whole new dimension. It wasn't just her fathers that she wanted to be free of, it was everyone and everything here. She wanted to be free of the other students, the teachers, the town. She just wanted a fresh start. A chance to get away from everyone that knew this Rachel and turn into the Rachel that she wanted to be._

_

* * *

I see the girl I wanna be_

_Riding bareback, carefree along the shore_

_If only that someone was me_

_Jumping headfirst, headlong without a thought_

_To act and damn the consequence_

_How I wish it could be that easy_

_But fear surrounds me like a fence_

_I wanna break free_

_All I want is the wind in my hair_

_To face the fear but not feel scared_

_

* * *

She could only see the silhouettes of the judges with the stage lights shining on her. She shifted her gaze up to the exit signs, completely losing herself in the song. She would never admit aloud, but even if she didn't get one of the open slots, it was going to be okay. Somewhere on her journey of preparing for this audition she remembered the raw passion that she felt for singing, for performing, and it fueled her ambition to make it on her terms._

_

* * *

Wild horses I wanna be like you_

_Throwing caution to the wind I run free too_

_Wish I could recklessly love like I'm longing too_

_I wanna run with the wild horses_

_Run with the wild horses_

_I wanna run too_

_Recklessly abandoning myself before you_

_I wanna open up my heart, tell him how I feel_

_

* * *

Oh how she wanted to be free, but a small piece of her heart was still stuck back in Lima. But that's were it needed to stay. She needed to move on. Tears were about to build in her eyes as the realization of what she was on the verge of finally sunk in. She was this close to getting away from it, and the potential relief was burning a hole in her chest. She shut her eyes as she finished the song, only letting a single tear drop down her cheek._

_

* * *

Wild horses I wanna be like you_

_Throwing caution to the wind I run free too_

_Wish I could recklessly love like I'm longing too_

_I wanna run with the wild horses_

_Run with the wild horses_

_Run with the wild horses_

_I wanna run with the wild horses_

* * *

Song Credit must go to the lovely Natasha Bedingfield for the song Wild Horses-gotta love it!!!


	3. Chapter 3

Huge Thank You to kadeejay, Lunar Kitty Kat, samcamstargate1, and blue18eyes. You guys are awesome and I really, _really_ appreciated the reviews. And I totally agree, after last week's episode I think I fell in love with Finn even more! So here's a bit of Finn, and next chapter, a little someone new.

I'm hoping to update again before Thanksgiving, but in case things get too hectic and I don't, then I hope you have a Great Thanksgiving!!!

Hope you all enjoy, and as always I would love to hear your thoughts!!!

* * *

**Wild Horses**

**Chapter 3**

Rachel kept shifting from one foot to the other with her eyes glued to the security checkpoint. It had been three and a half months since she had seen him last. As she caught her first glimpse of him she squealed and ran to him to envelop him in a hug.

"If that's the greeting I knew I was going to get I would have come a lot sooner."

"I missed you Kurt. I can wait to show you around. Let's go get your bags so that we can get going. I figure today we can spend shopping before the show. Tomorrow we can do the whole tourist thing and see a bunch of the sites. And on Sunday, I scored us a couple of tickets to _Wicked_." Rachel linked arms with Kurt as they walked to get his bags. He filled her in on the latest gossip of Lima-Quinn had given birth to a baby girl and she was adopted by a family in Columbus, Mr. Schue and Miss Pillsbury were engaged, and Finn was now seeing Brittany (which was a little scary sometimes considering they both had more than their share of blonde moments).

Kurt then squeezed out all of the juicy information about Rachel's debut on Broadway. She had auditioned for _Spring Awakening_ and not only got a part, but got one of the leads. This summer she was starring as Wendla Bergmann. As if it couldn't get any better, she has been offered the chance to continue her role and continue getting credit from RPA until next May-at which time she would have enough credits to graduate a year early if she wanted to.

After a serious shopping spree and watching Rachel's amazing perform, they grabbed some Starbucks and went back to Rachel's dorm. She turned on the Christmas lights her and Jessica had strung up around the room and plugged her iPod into the speakers. They both fell onto the bed with their drinks and sat back against the headboard.

"I know you say that you are happy and you love it here, but are you really?"

"Yeah, I am. I mean I do miss Glee, not so much Glee itself, but hanging out with everyone, especially our little jam sessions we used to have. I don't miss everyone thinking that I am a totally freak. I don't miss the daily slushy facials and subsequent massive dry cleaning bills that I had to pay because I couldn't let my dads know what was happening. And I like the anonymity of New York. I can go walking around and know that everyone that I see doesn't know everything going on with me like they do in a small town. But I miss you Kurt."

"I'm glad. You deserve the best Rachel. And hopefully in about a year I can move here and become the most badass designer ever-I mean no one has the fashion sense that I do. Do you miss anyone else in particular?"

"You don't have to fish Kurt, you can actually say their names. I promise not to shave your head when you sleep."

"Blasphemy Rachel Berry. Fine then, I'll be more specific, a Noah Puckerman and a Finn Hudson."

"Not as much as I use to, but I miss them sometimes. Or at least I miss what I thought may have been with them." Kurt caught the slight melancholy in her voice and instantly changed the subject to what they would do tomorrow.

As Rachel lay in bed trying to sleep she thought back to the conversation she had with Kurt earlier. She lied. She still missed them and it still hurt to think about them. Especially when Kurt filled her in on how Finn was seeing Brittany. She was actually still holding out a bit of hope for him after he came over to her house when she got back from her auditions for RPA.

_Rachel had just set her suitcase down in her room when she heard the doorbell ring. One of her dad's hollered that he was getting it so she started to unpack and throw her laundry in a pile. As she set aside the dark blue dress she wore for the audition, she cringed at the thought of another dry cleaning bill to pay, she heard a knock on her bedroom door. She had no clue who it could be, she had just got off the phone with Kurt, so she hollered for them to come in. As the door opened she saw Finn standing there, his one hand resting on the doorknob, the other jammed into the pocket of his letterman jacket. He asked her how the audition had gone. She told him all about it and how she not only got in, but got a scholarship. He wrapped her up in a hug and told her that he knew that she could do it. _

_That was her undoing. Not the hug, although that did feel great, but someone telling her that they believed in her. She managed to keep the sobbing quiet, thanks to plenty of practice crying herself to sleep without waking up her dads, but Finn felt her shoulders shaking. He rubbed her back asking her what was wrong. She couldn't tell him the truth so she tried to play it off as just being excited and scared about going to New York. It was then that he bent down and gently kissed her. She reveled in the feeling of being held in his arms with his lips pressed against hers. The kiss quickly turned from innocent to steamy and Rachel was lost. Finn was the first to step away, telling her that he promised his mom that he would only be gone for a couple of minutes. She walked him out to his car where he stole one more kiss before driving off._

Rachel was only in Lima for about two weeks after that before she moved to New York, and in that time her and Finn stole plenty more kisses. They were never "officially" together. "They" (Finn) decided that there was no point since Rachel would be leaving soon, but Rachel would catch some of the looks that he gave Quinn when he thought no one was looking and each one broke her heart a little more. She knew that he had completely fallen in love with his daughter, or at least who he thought was his daughter, and Rachel thinks that he also fell in love with her mother.

As much as she hated feeling like second best, she had decided that she was going to take whatever she could get when it came to Finn. He was something special, and she wanted to hold on to that. But now it was time to move on.

* * *

I would love to know what you thought! Next time...a new guy in Rachel Berry's life.


	4. Chapter 4

Huge Thank You to kadeejay, Lunar Kitty Kat, blue18eyes, BlondezillasMaid , and MTG4U. You guys are so awesome and I really, _really_ appreciated the reviews. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Am I the only one who wanted to give Kurt and Rachel giant hugs after last weeks episode. I totally wish they form some sort of friendship out of this unrequited love for Finn thing they have going on. It would be diva-licious!

There is definitely more Puck and Finn to come because your can never run from your past, it always has a way of sneaking up and biting you in the ass.

I was really hoping to get this up on or before Thanksgiving since there is the Macy's Day Parade in this one, but I was totally uninspired so sorry for the lateness.

Hope you all enjoy, and as always I would love to hear your thoughts!!!

* * *

**Wild Horses**

**Chapter 4**

Rachel felt the cold wind whipping around her face, but the excitement kept her warm. Well that and the fact that Geoff was standing right next to her. He's been playing Melchior Gabor alongside Rachel in _Spring Awakening_ and they had formed a friendship this past summer. They had been asked to appear in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on the M&M float and sing _Give My Regards to Broadway_. As soon as Rachel found out the news she whipped out her cell phone and texted Kurt. Of course the first thing he wanted to know was what was she going to wear, and after she answered that (and many more questions) he congratulated her and told her that he would tell Glee.

As the parade came to an end and Rachel and Geoff were getting off of the float he asked her what her plans for the rest of the day were.

"My dads were supposed to be coming to town to watch the parade and then celebrate Thanksgiving, but one of them caught the flu so they are staying home. What are you doing?"

"Going back to the dorms to watch the football games and have some pizza. My family's never really been into the whole Thanksgiving Day thing. You wanna come?" Rachel barely had to think about that one. She had seen Geoff walking around RPA last semester and noticed him right away. They never had classes together so she didn't meet him until the first rehearsal for _Spring Awakening_, at which point she developed a massive crush for him.

"Sounds great. Anything to get out of this cold." Geoff threw his arm around Rachel and pulled her into his side. She wasn't fishing for that to happen when she mentioned the being cold, but she is so glad that it did happen because it feels so good.

* * *

With an empty pizza box in front of them, Geoff had his arm draped around her shoulders and Rachel was snuggled into his side on the couch in the common room. The game was playing on the big screen in front of them, but Rachel wasn't really paying any attention to the game itself. She kept watching the screen waiting for it to go mostly dark so that she could see their reflection, because she would totally admit it, she was smitten. Now if only he won't knock up his best friend's girl or think that he knocked up his girl, or just pick another girl over her. Anyway she put it, she was just keeping her fingers crossed that she would come out on top- and as she realized the innuendo in that one she felt her cheeks get a little warm.

Rachel was awoken by Geoff a few hours later. Sometime during the second game she had fallen asleep curled up in the corner of the couch. She was really hoping that she didn't snore or make any weird noises in her sleep-after all, it's not like she's ever slept with anyone to know whether she did these things or not.

"Sorry. Guess the day finally got to me. I better get back to my room."

"I'll walk you." They fell into step with each other and Geoff slipped his hand into hers as they walked to her building.

"What are you doing tomorrow?" Rachel thought through her plans.

"Since my dads never came, then nothing I guess."

"Have you been ice skating yet at Rockefeller?"

"No, is it fun?"

"Well, why don't you come with me to find out?"

"Sure. Sounds great. We haven't really had time to hang out since school started."

"Yeah, but I was thinking we could make it more into a date."

"Are you asking me out Geoff?" Rachel couldn't stop the massive smile from spreading across her face.

"If I was…?"

"Guess you'll have to ask me to find out."

"You never go easy on me do you?" They stopped right outside the door to her room and she turned to face him, still holding hands.

"Where would the fun in that be?"

"Rachel Berry, would you do me the absolute pleasure of going out with me tomorrow?"

"I would love to Geoff Maddock. Now was that so hard?" Geoff didn't answer, instead he just cupped her face and leaned down to gently kiss her lips. Rachel put her free hand on his waist and went onto her toes to kiss him a littler harder. He turned his head a little further to deepen the kiss as he let go off the hand he was still holding to wrap his arm around her and bring her fully up against him.

Rachel sighed into the kiss and moved her now free hand into his hair, scraping her fingers along his scalp. She could feel his body pressed up against her. He wasn't as built as Puck was, but he had more muscle mass than Finn. He felt good, perfect in fact. Which is why she groaned as he ended the kiss. He smiled at her before placing one last kiss on her lips and gently moving her hair behind her ear.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow at noon. We can grab something before we go skating."

"See you then." Rachel lifted up on her toes to kiss him on his cheek before turning and going into her room.

* * *

As soon as Rachel closed her door she started dancing around. She had a date! And with a senior! Well technically with the extra credits she earned over the summer she was a senior now too, but still. She pulled out her cell phone and called Kurt and began talking a mile a minute the moment that he answered.

"Oh My God Kurt. You will never guess the day that I had. So the parade was absolutely amazing. Freezing, but amazing. And then me and Geoff came back to the dorms and we had pizza and watched the football games, well I only watched about one and a half games because I fell asleep during the second game. But Geoff woke me and up and walked me back to my room and he kissed me. Totally kissed me and asked me out. Well first he asked me out and then kissed me, but either way I have a date. Tomorrow! We're going to go ice skating. I never did that last winter so I'm kinda nervous. And I am totally nervous about the date. I don't know why, it's not like I don't know him. We became really good friends over the summer and everything, but I've never really been on a date date, you know. Not like officially or anything. I went out with Finn and Puck a few times, but they never actually asked me out on a date."

"Breathe Rachel. You have to breathe. First off, you were amazing today, I watched you on TV. And yum. I remember Geoff from when I came to visit you over the summer. And you will be fine tomorrow. Since you're already friends you two won't have to do that whole awkward getting to know you small talk."

"Kurt, what do I wea?."

They spent a whole thirty minutes deciding on what Rachel should wear before they got off the phone. For the first time in a long time Rachel fell asleep with a smile on her face. Life was good.

* * *

Sorry about the kinda short chapter-I was just not inspired this past week and I really wanted to get it out so I could move on. And OK, so I am totally and completely lazy because I didn't come up with my own character for the third guy, but after seeing a video on YouTube of Lea Michele and Jonathon Groff in the parade I thought aha-that's it! Anyways-I hope you enjoyed and next chapter will be Puck again!


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